Hans-Christian Schink on his series “On the Way”

I couldn't say how many times I've walked this path in the last ten years. It stretches for over three kilometers from our house through the agricultural landscape typical of eastern Mecklenburg to the end of the village lake. Most of the time, it was simply the walk to the lake, taken alone, with a partner, or with friends. For relaxation, for reflection, for a bit of exercise. Or to observe the vastly different moods of light throughout the seasons: an almost seamless white of sky and snow-covered earth in the winter fog, dramatic cloud formations before a thunderstorm, or an almost unreal twilight blue.



I noticed the flora and fauna along the path without looking closely or studying them in any detail. Eventually, I did ask myself what I was actually seeing. Why did I recognize many of the animal species I encountered here, but only a small fraction of the plants growing along the path? This gradually gave rise to the idea of ​​creating a photographic inventory of this familiar area over an extended period. Alongside this, I began identifying the existing animal and plant life using traditional field guides, apps, and internet research.



The shift from casual observation to focused observation constantly revealed new potential aspects of my project. Each hike brought further discoveries, and along with the astonishment at the unexpectedly high number of species came the realization that much would remain hidden from me. An encyclopedic approach to my project was illusory. Everything I could depict and name would point to the inevitable incompleteness of such an undertaking. Even though I extended this work from the originally planned one year to four, it can therefore only offer a glimpse into the inexhaustible whole.



Thirty-three black-and-white photographs of the path now form the basis of this work. They convey an impression of the character and topography of this Ice Age-shaped landscape, as well as the nature of its economic use. These are complemented by five color photographs that reflect the changing light and weather throughout the seasons. Studying the flora along the path resulted in 128 photographs of blossoms, 29 photographs of plants, and 25 images of leaves from the trees and shrubs in this area. Representing the wildlife, my brother, Martin Schink, created colored drawings of all 82 bird species observed. My book, *Am Weg* (On the Path), published in 2025 by Hartmann Books, contains not only this extensive visual material but also lists of the recorded animal and plant species and a literary text by the poet and writer Uwe Kolbe.